Latest Internet Con

Doubtful anyone here would be naive enough to fall for this new Internet con game, but according to the FBI there have been a bunch of people cleaned out by a couple of fairly savvy African gangs and (not to be outdone) the con is even being picked up by some US and European gangs.

So let your more naive relatives and friends know about the scam.

I've pasted the text of the kind of email these con artists spam out hoping to find a few people gullible enough to buy the pitch and contact them and then give them their bank routing information.

Per the pitch, the person (con man) seeking help will arrange to transfer $50+ million to the person (sucker) giving their banking info and the poor soul seeking the help will split it with them. Of course, in reality the scammers electronically clean our the person's bank account and disappear into the night.

It's a great con - it relies on both the sucker's naivity and personal greed with just enough of a soap opera component so that the sucker can believe (if we wants to) that he's helping someone while at the same time taking part in what would be a highly questionable transaction if it were actually true.

Here's the text - I've seen several of these in slightly different forms and minor twists to the story:

ATTN: SIR

This business proposal to you is strictly
confidential, with due respect. Sorry at this
perceived confusion or stress you may have receiving
this letter from me, Since we have not known ourselves
or met previously. Despite that, I am constrained to
write you this letter because of the urgency of it.By
way of self introduction, I am Mrs. Joy Kobe, the wife
of late Brigadier - Gen.Maxwell Kobe former ECOMOG
ARMY COMMANDER [West African peacekeeping force in
Sierra Leone] who died in the Sierra Leone civil
disturbance [War]. My three daughters and I are
trapped in obnoxious custom and traditional norms.

We have suffered maltreatment and untold hardship in
the hands of my late husband's family, simply because
I did not bear a male child [heir apparent] for my
late husband. By tradition, all that my late husband
had, [wealth] belongs to his brothers/family. And
myself is to be remarried by his immediate younger
brother which I vehemently refused. They have taken
all that I suffered with my husband to acquire
including treasures, houses and his bank particular
seized by them. I wanted to escape to the United State
of America [USA} with my children on exile, but again
they conspired and stole my international passport and
other traveling document to further frustrate me.

Thank God, two weeks ago, I received Key Text Code
[KTC} from a Security & Finance Company abroad, that
my late husband deposited U.S
$51.2 Million cash with this company. It has therefore, become very necessary
and
urgent to contact someone, a foreigner like you to help me receive/secure these
funds
overseas in a reliable bank Account (presumably an empty Bank
Account, if available) and to help invest it on our
behalf as well, while we find a way of getting out to
meet with you in your country.

These funds are kept on an "OPEN BENEFICIARY MANDATE"
with the Security Company to avoid detection, seizure
or diversion. I have had several telephone discussions
with the Assistant Director of the security company,
who has express willingness to help me on meeting the
company's demands. This is why I have
contacted you to help save my children and I, receive
these funds on our behalf. But, you would need to give
me sufficient assurance that if you help me, you would
not divert the funds. My children and I have resolved
to give you 30% of the total sum. This is all my
children and I have got to live on.

Please, I have reposed my confidence in you and hope
you will not disappoint me. I look forward to your
urgent response, including your private phone / mobile
No and also your fax no for easier communication.

NB: The secret codes (e.g Pin No., Secret Access Code)
for this fund are safely kept with me which I can give
you as soon as you express desire to help me.

Believe it or not this is said to be a 3,5 billion $ market (for the last 10 years). It is not new, before the widespread use of the internet (and e-mail) they contacted their victims via handwritten letters (I was honored by receiving one of them, I'm still receiving lots of e-mails).

They do not electronically steal your money, when you fall into the trap, you will be asked to send money (some 100K, ridiculuous compared to your future gains, isn't it?) until you sense who is the fool.

At least some years ago, you were invited to visit nigeria/ghana, led into a real ministry, introduced to the people and so on (all fakes). And then there were some minor problems, to be solved by some 100K $ of your money. Until the poor(? afterwards certainly!) victim took his last $ and fled.

These offers do come in various disguises, one of the more nasty variance is the following: The widow of a freshly deceased small company owner receives a letter by a nigerian (or whatever) authority innocently asking where to send the 8 million US$ (or so) payment for the last delivery. In a small company the owner is the only one knowing all about his business, so the letter causes some turmoil. The company usually is in danger, it does need money and everything sounds very correct, just nobody knowing what the company did deliver. Guess how it ends...

We hit the Nigerians for $160 "filing fee" on one of these cons about 10 years ago. Dopes actually sent an assistant of mine a Barclays money order so we had an office luncheon. I remember calling the guy once for the hell of it and hearing screaming kids in the background at the "National Nigerian Somethingorother"
They wanted to use our escrow account to handle the millions

Think I remember stories about some folks actually meeting with them and getting held up in airport hotels.

Geo.

Now that I think about it though, I can remember about ten years before that getting some crazy things from South Africa that were for real from white folks that wanted out. They were cashing in their chips.

I AM MR. FUNSHO WILLIAMS (MNIM), THE CO-ORDINATOR OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA CONTRACT
REVIEW PANEL OF THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION(NNPC).

SOMETIME AGO, A CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO A CONGLOMERATE OF FOREIGN
COMPANIES BY MY COMMITTEE ON
BEHALF OF NNPC, THE CONTRACT WAS OVER INVOICED TO THE TUNE OF US$24.5
MILLION. THIS WAS DONE
DELIBERATELY, THE OVER INVOICING WAS A DEAL BY MEMBERS OF MY COMMITTEE
TO BENEFIT FROM THE
PROJECT, WE NOW DESIRE TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY WHICH IS PRESENTLY IN A
SUSPENSE ACCOUNT OF THE
NNPC IN THE DEBT RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE (DRC) INTO AN OVERSEAS
ACCOUNT WHICH WE EXPECT YOU
TO KINDLY PROVIDE FOR US.

BENEFITS:
FOR PROVIDING THE ACCOUNT WHERE WE SHALL REMIT THE MONEY, YOU WILL BE
ENTITLED TO 25% OF THE
MONEY, 65% WILL BE FOR ME AND MY PARTNERS, WHILE 10% HAS BEEN MAPPED
OUT FROM THE TOTAL SUM TO
COVER ANY EXPENSES THAT MAY BE INCURRED BY US DURING THE COURSE OF THIS
TRANSACTION, BOTH LOCAL
AND INTERNATIONAL EXPENSES, THESE ALSO INCLUDE TAXES THAT MAY ARISE.

I WOULD REQUIRE:
A. NAME AND ADDRESS OF COMPANY/BENEFICIARY
B. YOUR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER, BANK ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION
RELEVANT TO THE PROJECT AT HAND.
C. IT NOT NESESSARY THAT THE ACCOUNT YOU ARE PROVIDING SHOULD HAVE
MONEY IN IT, WHAT MATTERS IS
THAT IT SHOULD HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR A WHILE (ACCOUNTS DYNAMICS)
AND YOU SHOULD HAVE 100%
CONTROL OVER IT.

THE ABOVE INFORMATION WOULD BE USED TO MAKE FORMAL APPLICATIONS AS A
MATTER OF PROCEDURE FOR THE
RELEASE OF THE MONEY FOR ONWARD TRANSFER TO YOUR ACCOUNT. IT DOES NOT
MATTER WHETHER OR NOT YOUR
COMPANY OR YOU PERFORMED CONTRACT PROJECTS OF THE NATURE DESCRIBED
HERE, THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT
YOU WON A MAJOR CONTRACT AND SUB-CONTRACTED IT OUT TO OTHER COMPANIES.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, BIG
TRADING COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS OF UNRELATED FIELD WIN MAJOR CONTRACTS
AND SUB-CONTRACTS IT OUT
TO MORE SPECIALISED FIRMS FOR EXECUTION OF SUCH CONTRACTS.WE HAVE
STRONG AND RELIABLE CONNECTIONS
AND CONTACTS AT THE DEBT RECONCILIATIONN COMMITTEE (DRC) AND THE
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE (FMF)
AND WE HAVE NO DOUBTS THAT ALL THIS MONEY WILL BE RELEASED AND
TRANSFERED IF WE GET THE NECESSARY
FOREIGN PARTNER IN THIS TRASACTION. THEREFORE, WHEN THE BUSINESS IS
SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED, WE
SHALL THROUGH OUR SAME CONNECTIONS WITHDRAW ALL DOCUMENTS USED FROM ALL
THE CONCERNED GOVERNMENT
MINISTRIES FOR 100% SECURITY.

WE WANT THIS MONEY TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE OVERSEAS ACCOUNT WHICH YOU
ARE GOING TO KINDLY PROVIDE
FOR SAFE KEEPING PENDING WHEN WE WILL DETERMINE HOW WE WANT OUR PORTION
OF THE MONEY, ALL EXPENSES
REGARDING THE ACCOUNT OPENING IF NOT ALREADY IN EXISTENCE SHALL BE
BORNE BY YOU, ALL MONIES SPENT
FROM PERSONAL PURSE DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION ARE HOWEVER
REIMBURSEABLE AS ALREADY
STATED FROM THE 5% THAT HAD BEEN SET ASIDE FOR THIS PURPOSE AFTER THE
TRANSFER OF THE FUNDS HAVE
BEEN EFFECTED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT THAT YOU WILL BE PROVIDING FOR THE
PURPOSE OF THIS BUSINESS.

PLEASE, CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY THROUGH FAX (234 1 7590371) OR E-MAIL TO
ASCERTAIN YOUR INTEREST IN
DOING US THIS FAVOUR, SO THAT IF YOU ARE NOT, IT WILL ENABLE ME SCOUT
FOR ANOTHER FOREIGN PARTNER
TO CARRY OUT THIS TRANSACTION. FORTUNATELY, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
ASSISTING ME, PLEASE SEND
THE REQUIRED INFORMATION MENTIONED THROUGH MY DIRECT FAX NUMBER: 234 1
7590371 OR E-MAIL AT ANY
TIME OF THE DAY. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THIS TRANSACTION, SEND ME A FAX OR
E-MAIL.

IF YOU WILL BE OF ASSISTANCE, I WILL SURELY APPRECIATE AND THANK YOU
FOR YOUR KINDNESS IN GIVING
ME THIS ASSISTANCE.